Term 3: Weeks 1-2

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Learning Conferences 
Thank you so much to all the families who attended a learning conference this week. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with you all and for the children to share their learning. We have a had a few families interested in what their child's day looks like in the Koru Tahaki hub. Please see our timetable for a 'typical' day.



Reading Challenge 
This term we are showing 'We Love Challenge' by encouraging the children to read as many books as they can and record this in the back of their home learning books. When a child reads 10 picture books or one chapter book they get to add a ring to their paper chain in the hub. The goal is 10 rings (100 picture books or 10 chapter books). You can support your child to reach this goal by reading with them each night and recording it in their home learning book.

Parent Help
If you are available between 9-10am on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Friday and would like to help out please email Charlotte. We always need wonderful parents to help put books away and to listen to our children read.
charlotte.verity@beckenham.school.nz

Welcome Back Kōwhai Term 3 Week 2

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It is hard to believe that we are already in Term 3! This term sees us having another action-packed term full of exciting learning for the children. 

Learning Conferences
It has been a pleasure catching up with so many of you this week at  learning conferences. We are very proud of the students who have had their learning conferences, showing that they are about to confidently talk about their learning, sharing goals and explaining how things happen in the Kōwhai hub. We really appreciate having this time to discuss your child and their learning. 

 Home Learning
Like last term, this term your child will bring home their home learning each week. There are only 3 tasks that need to be completed:
1.  Nightly reading (10-15minutes) which may be a book of your child's choice or a book that the teacher has sent home
2. Spelling words (5-6 words) 
3. MMM sheet (1 minute timed or untimed test)

 Can you make sure that your child returns their home learning folder and book to school each day as they need this to record the books they are reading and for them to practise their words at school. 
Each Friday, the children have a spelling test and need their home learning books for them to set up the learning for the following week. Your support with ensuring your child has this at school each day is greatly appreciated.

 Literacy
Our focus for the start of the term is learning about persuasive text and how to write an argument to persuade others. The children have discussed a variety of topics that they are keen to write about. Over the next few weeks, we will learn how to craft a successful piece. 

For their writing to be successful, the children are aiming to:


  • State their point of view clearly in the introduction and the conclusion.
  • Explain their thoughts and position on a topic.
  • Give reasons for why they think that using connectives.
(e.g. furthermore, however, consequently, therefore, so, because, firstly, finally)

  • Give reasons and evidence to back up their position.

We will post some of their arguments on the blog for you to read over the coming weeks.

Maths
We have just begun exploring fractions as part of our maths learning this term. It has been great to see the children making connections with their maths knowledge and using this to help them solve their problem. We are currently solving problems like these:


 


Freya has two pizzas that are divided into eight pieces. She eats 4/8 of one pizza and 5/8 of the other. How much pizza has she eaten?


Torun has two pizzas.  She gives 3/5 to George and 9/10 to Quinn.  How much pizza did she give away? How much is left?


Sam is sharing some chocolate with the class. There are 24 pieces in a block. He breaks it into thirds to share with Violet and India. How many pieces will they each get?

You might like to discuss fractions at home to help build your child's understanding.

Image result for ecosystemsInquiry- Sustainability
As part of our Inquiry topic in Sustainability, the children are continuing to explore the key statement:
People make choices to sustain their wellbeing and the environment.

This term we are going to be exloring our local environment and the ecosystems and the requirements they need in order to stay alive. We will be using the Treemendous area as a place of inquiry and will look at conducting a variety of scientific investigations in this area. We will keep you up to date with our findings.

Hockey
We are lucky enough to have Canterbury Hockey coming in to take weekly sessions will our our hub this term. Over the next 5 weeks, the children will have a session each week to develop their skills and they will then participate in a mini tournament in week 5.

Buddies
Last week, we worked on sharing our learning with our buddies and identifying our next steps for learning. Here we are in action:


Well that's all for now. Have a wonderful week ahead.

Kōwhai Teaching Team


Term 3 Week 2 in Pōhutukawa

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Welcome back to the new term. We have had a mixed bag of weather so far. Now that we have hit August we only have one month left of winter, in theory, so bring on spring!

This term for physical education we have Canterbury Hockey delivering their Small Sticks programme to our whole school. For Pōhutukawa this means a half hour lesson for each home group on Tuesday, for the first five weeks of the term. It's great to have experts in, as it means that the teachers are learning new activities and skills too!

Our other physical education focus is gymnastics. We began this today and the students had a fabulous time using the apparatus and supporting each other at giving new things a go. The students rotated around eight activities - beam, vault with beat board, vault with mini tramp, skipping ropes, forward rolls, cartwheels, handstands and human pyramid.








After the amazing community effort of the mass planting, we have now opened up our Treemendous area for the children to play in, during break times on a Tuesday and Thursday (at this stage). Beach popped down to see what could happen there, and decided it was a pretty cool area to hang out in.



Our new writing topic of poetry was kicked off on Monday by a poetry reading motivation. This could have been quite a dry experience, however we had Jarred accompanying the teachers who were reading the poetry, by acting out the words in the poems using Jarred's very own style of sign language. Much hilarity ensued, and thus started the new writing topic. The students then made their own acrostic poem, using their name. Through Google Classroom, each child has their own Poetry Anthology Google Slideshow. As we learn about different poetry types, the children will be writing their own poems and publishing them in their anthology. At the end of the unit, each slideshow will be printed and made into a book. Today's poem was called the 5W poem, as each line described a part of a story - who, what, where, when and why. There were some excellent poems created throughout the hub.


Superman,  
cruising in the sky, at nearby Hidden Batcave,
close to midnight, trying to find Batman.

By Max Graham

Izzy,playing around,in her backyard,on a hot and sunny afternoon,so she could find her pets.

By Mahli Boreham

Nemo,Trying to get attention,
Lying in front of the couch on the soft grey carpet,While I am watching Britain's Got Talent,Because he wants food.

By Holly Rogers

On Friday we begin our next round of passion groups. On offer this term is coding, sewing, arts and crafts and cooking. We spend 45 minutes on a Friday, from 9-9:45am, in our passion groups. The students look forward to this time of the week, in order to participate in a variety of different activities, often selected because of interests the students have mentioned. Due to the hands on approach required for sewing, cooking and arts and crafts, we would love extra help on Friday mornings. If a family member is available for 45 minutes from 9-9:45am, and fancies joining in any of the activities we are offering this term (for 5 weeks), we would love to have you join us. Please email Tracy to offer your services if you can spare the time. We would also love any donations of material/fabric, needles, thread/cotton/embroidery cotton or wool. 
tracy.inwood@beckenham.school.nz

It has been a pleasure catching up with many of you on Tuesday night at learning conferences. We are very proud of the students who have had their learning conferences, showing that they are about to confidently talk about their learning, sharing goals and explaining how things happen in the Pōhutukawa hub. We look forward to seeing many more of you on Thursday, and remind you that school closes at 2pm to enable us to begin our learning conferences from 2:15pm.

Kind regards
Tracy, Katie, Gayle and Nick














Kauri Weekly Update: Term 3 Week 2

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There is lots on in the Intermediate Hub at the moment. I apologise for the long blogpost. It is all important, so please read carefully. 

Learning Conferences:

We are looking forward to seeing you at learning conferences today and on Thursday. Please do not wait outside, just come straight in. Your child knows to get their bucket and start sharing their learning with you. We will join you to talk about writing, maths, key competencies and answer any questions.  30 minutes needs to be allowed for our conferences.

Becamath:

Tomorrow we will be holding our maths problem solving competition in the hall. The children will be in mixed ability groups, solving problems and running answers to get marked. It is an exciting event. We will be keeping an eye on individuals, as this is one part of the selection process for our Cantamath teams. 

Ski Trip:

We are just over a week away from our ski trip. Over the past two days I have been matching children up with ski clothing that they need to borrow. We have been short on glasses/goggles, medium sized gloves and larger ski pants. If your child still does not have what they need, Snowmania, 4 Dalgety Street, Riccarton, has the best deal on rental equipment, including gloves or goggles for $5. The package at Mt Hutt includes skis, boots, poles, helmet, ski pass and lesson, so no need to organise a helmet or hat. 

On the day we will need to leave school, Sandwich Rd, at 6:10am!!! Yes, I know, it is extremely early, however we need to be at ski hire on the mountain by 8:15. The tricky part is that the ski report, letting us know if the mountain is open, does not come through until 6am. This close timing is unfortunate, but not something we can avoid. If your child arrives for the bus before we have seen the ski report, please wait with them until the go/no go decision has been made. We will be leaving the mountain to head home soon after 3:30, which will get us back to school around 5:45pm. We will text with a more accurate time when we are on our way home.

Tomorrow we start our class preparation sessions. These include: dressing for the mountain, an introduction to gear, snow safety and mountain management. Many thanks to those who replied to say they can loan skis for our dry land session on Thursday morning.

Being dressed for the mountain conditions makes such a difference to the enjoyment of the day. Your child will need:
  • Several thin layers are much better for keeping warm and comfortable than a bulky layer. Cotton is not great for the mountains; thermal clothing is what’s needed.
  • Polypro or woolen thermal top
  • Thermal ‘long-johns’ or tights
  • Fleece or woolen top / jersey
  • Waterproof pants
  • A warm weatherproof jacket
  • Woolen or thermal socks, not too thick. Socks need to come up to mid calf at least.
  • Weatherproof gloves or mittens
  • Either sun glasses or ski goggles
  • A scarf is optional, but must be tucked into their jacket, to avoid dangling ends.
  • Hats are not needed as all children will be given a helmet
  • Sunscreen, for the face
  • A substantial lunch, including a drink. The mountain cafe is very expensive. Children may bring some money for a hot drink or snack, but please also pack a lunch. They are responsible for looking after any money they bring.
  • Long hair needs to be tied up. 
Plan for the day:
6:10am           Meet in school car park on Sandwich Rd, roll call
6:15am           Buses depart
8:15am           Arrive at the ski-field, snack, ski hire sorted and tickets distributed
9:00am           Lessons begin
10:30am        Morning tea break
11:15am        Free skiing with lots of adult supervision
12:30pm        Lunch break 
1:00pm          Free skiing with lots of adult supervision
3:20pm          Return gear to ski hire
3:40pm          Leave the ski-field
5:45pm          Arrive back at school


Parent Helpers:
Many thanks to the following people who have offered to help out on the mountain.
Skiers: Matthew Cowie, Paula Winsor, Stu Clarke, Joe Evans, Tony Sice, Iris Brookland, Liz May, Matthew Macdonald and Rod Gray
Non-skiers: Kate Packer, Anne Jaiswal, Jane Parrett or Hugh Reynolds and Fenella Jameson.
If you expected to see your name on this list, but didn’t, please contact me ASAP. If your name is on this list and you are now not available, again please contact me ASAP.
I will be sending out a parent helper notice later this week.

We have four teaching staff going, including Jarred. Many thanks to those who have sorted their $30 for this trip. We would appreciate the rest of the money in ASAP. 

Finally on ski trip, we need to make up another 20 arm bands, as per the photo below. If you are a sewer and able to help out by making these up, please email me.



Cantamath Home Learning:

There was a misprint on the notice that went home about Cantamath project home learning. This is due on Monday August 13th. Your child should be well underway with their project by now. Please let us know if any support is required for your child. 

Winter Tournament:

The weather really turned it on for our Zone Winter Tournament at Hagley Park yesterday. The children competed in a series of fast and furious games against teams from other schools in our zone. Three seemed to be the number of the day with many of our teams earning third place in the tournament, narrowly missing the chance to compete at Canterbury level. After the tournament, I received a number of emails from parents, commenting on the fantastic sportsmanship demonstrated by our tamariki, which is fantastic to hear. A mammoth thank you to all the parents who managed a team for the morning. The children loved this experience.





Mountain Biking Passion:

Last year, in Term 4, I (Jenny) offered mountain biking as a passion option. I would love to be able to offer this again this year and I know there are quite a number of keen participants in our Kauri whanau - I've been asked more than a few times to repeat the passion group this year!

This passion is made possible by adult helpers who are willing and available to support with child and bike transportation and child supervision. With Passion Thursday taking place during typical work hours, I am getting in early so that we can hopefully get enough adult helper committed to the venture to enable it to happen.
If you are able to commit to some or all Passion Thursday sessions, please fill out this form.

Primary and Intermediate Ski Race:

This annual event is held at Mount Cheeseman and is a fantastic opportunity for tamariki with a passion for skiing to represent their school in this sport. Following the success of last year’s event, we would like to put forward a team again this year and are now accepting entries on a first come first served basis. Children must be competent skiers. The event takes place on Sunday the 19th of August and costs $40 per child, payable to the school. Please, email Jenny if you are interested in entering.

Phew! That's it for now. Just a community message to finish with ...

Week of Engineering Expo – Come along and get inspired!

Interested in learning more about engineering or just want to learn more about how the world works? If you’re looking for a fun family day, are considering engineering as a career pathway or wish to answer your child’s tricky questions about how things work, head along to the Week of Engineering public open day. There’ll be drones, robots and virtual reality to get involved with! Find out more at www.weekofengineering.co.nz/engineer-expos-2018

When and where:

Canterbury University’s College of Engineering
69 Creyke Street, Christchurch
Saturday 18 August from 10am – 4pm.

Soup and cheese rolls for lunch this week.

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Many thanks to those who have let us know they would like to order a soup and cheese roll lunch for their child this week: Monday for NE - Year 4 and Tuesday for Year 5-8. If you have yet to let us know, please fill in this form.

We encourage children to bring their own cup, however will have disposable cups for those who need them. Order your soup and cheese roll, or two cheese rolls and no soup by the flagpole before school, for $3.

Thanks for supporting Kauri fundraising.